#11 - Nobody's Hero

Artist: Bon Jovi
Album: 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong (Disc 4)
Other Versions: None
Era: don't know for sure, but it's probably best placed in the 90s "moody rock" category soundwise

Lyrics

This is how to do a "post-hair metal power ballad" ballad. It's one of those songs that when I hear it I just have to stop and listen to it and then listen to it again. It's a reminder that Bon Jovi really do have substance, despite the constant effort to dismiss them as fun fluff.

Jon and Richie harmonizing is a beautiful thing, especially when it's so bare-bones. This is a vocal song - not a capella, but the focus is very strongly on the vocals. Which is a good thing, it keeps this song from being too overblown. The lyrics are intense, too much instrumentation and it would be, well, too much (redundancy is cool).

I tend to focus on the instrumentals in Bon Jovi songs, mostly because David's my favorite and I like to pick out the piano/keyboard stuff and marvel once again at how talented he is. I didn't notice it in this song, I still don't really notice it. Jon has so much emotion and then when Richie comes in with that harmony that is always so so gorgeous, it just kills me (in a good way). This is probably the most openly emotional Bon Jovi song, the most bare-bones "this is how I feel" song - and that's saying a lot, because they have a lot of really good "heart on my sleeve" songs.

The only problem I have with this song isn't even about the song, it's that on the box set it's got the demo of Livin' on a Prayer attached to the end as a bonus track, so when I listen to it if I'm not paying attention or not near enough the cd player or computer to skip over that to the end I'm forced to listen to a song I find "high end of average". That might be a good trick to keep people from knowing there's a bonus, the attachment, but it's irritating for me loving the song so much and having to deal with the burden of a song I'm not particularly thrilled with. Small price to pay for Nobody's Hero, though. It's simply a beautiful, gut-wrenching song.

My Rating: 10/10

Edited 3/25/06: Added lyrics